About to buy our first RV
We will be on our way next week to get our New to us RV. It is a coachman Freelander 19CB. http://www.pettibonerv.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=1985222&p=1&make=coachmen&vc=class%2...
Forum Discussion
As you are coming from tent camping and are interested in CAMPING not RVing, I think your decision is a good one.
Storage - as Coolmom42 mentioned, packing cubes are indispensable. They come in many different colors and sizes. Get one color for each family member so they can easily identify their bag of clothing, etc. I also use them to store the electrical cords/adapters, electronic gadget cords, batteries (found a plastic battery holder that fits perfectly in a cube and keeps all my batteries organized and easy to access), the "junk drawer" items, water hose, etc. They take less room than plastic totes and can be "squished" to fit a space.
Get yourself a cloth hamper that hangs on a door knob (Amazon has them). Hang it in the shower and when dirty clothes come off, put them in the hamper. When you get home, just grab the hamper and dump it all in the wash. You can toss the actual hamper in also.
I agree with Dutchman Sport about electrical stuff - the less you have, the easier life will be. Things that heat will use more electricity. Since you plan on camping with electrical hookups, that isn't a huge issue, but don't box yourself into that - there are a lot of REALLY great dry camping spots out there.
In an RV, organization is the biggest help. It will take a while to get things in the right spot - after each trip, spend a day re-arranging your gear to better meet your needs. When you get it right, you'll know. Everything should have a dedicated space - you don't want to have to move a ton of stuff off the beds when you're exhausted and just want to lay down (think about the time spent pitching the tent). If it doesn't have a dedicated space, do you really need it? Teach the kids (and DH) right from the beginning that it gets put away as soon as they have finished using it. No leaving things out on the table, etc.
Once a year, go through everything in the RV - if it hasn't been used in the past year, get rid of it. This will help keep you minimalists (you will find it starts getting really easy to say "well, throw it in just in case" when you can just toss it in a cupboard and forget it).
I disagree with the suggestion to go with a bigger RV - for camping, it's just not necessary. As since your DH will be on weekend trips only for the most part, the corner bed is not going to be a big deal (especially since you're used to sleeping in a tent). The smaller RV will let you fit into more campgrounds and open up your opportunities for new places. Again, you're used to a tent - an RV isn't going to ruin your marriage because you are too sandwiched together.
One thing with the dinette that is my personal "thinking" - I always hate to sit someone in a moving vehicle behind a horizontal ledge (i.e., dinette table) that is at gut level. If an accident happens, or a sudden stop, it could potentially cause a lot of damage to the person (think kidneys,liver, appendix, stomach, and so on, all in the gut area). I would personally remove the table when driving so that risk is not there. Even with seatbelts, I just don't like the idea of that table edge in someone's gut.
Storage - as Coolmom42 mentioned, packing cubes are indispensable. They come in many different colors and sizes. Get one color for each family member so they can easily identify their bag of clothing, etc. I also use them to store the electrical cords/adapters, electronic gadget cords, batteries (found a plastic battery holder that fits perfectly in a cube and keeps all my batteries organized and easy to access), the "junk drawer" items, water hose, etc. They take less room than plastic totes and can be "squished" to fit a space.
Get yourself a cloth hamper that hangs on a door knob (Amazon has them). Hang it in the shower and when dirty clothes come off, put them in the hamper. When you get home, just grab the hamper and dump it all in the wash. You can toss the actual hamper in also.
I agree with Dutchman Sport about electrical stuff - the less you have, the easier life will be. Things that heat will use more electricity. Since you plan on camping with electrical hookups, that isn't a huge issue, but don't box yourself into that - there are a lot of REALLY great dry camping spots out there.
In an RV, organization is the biggest help. It will take a while to get things in the right spot - after each trip, spend a day re-arranging your gear to better meet your needs. When you get it right, you'll know. Everything should have a dedicated space - you don't want to have to move a ton of stuff off the beds when you're exhausted and just want to lay down (think about the time spent pitching the tent). If it doesn't have a dedicated space, do you really need it? Teach the kids (and DH) right from the beginning that it gets put away as soon as they have finished using it. No leaving things out on the table, etc.
Once a year, go through everything in the RV - if it hasn't been used in the past year, get rid of it. This will help keep you minimalists (you will find it starts getting really easy to say "well, throw it in just in case" when you can just toss it in a cupboard and forget it).
I disagree with the suggestion to go with a bigger RV - for camping, it's just not necessary. As since your DH will be on weekend trips only for the most part, the corner bed is not going to be a big deal (especially since you're used to sleeping in a tent). The smaller RV will let you fit into more campgrounds and open up your opportunities for new places. Again, you're used to a tent - an RV isn't going to ruin your marriage because you are too sandwiched together.
One thing with the dinette that is my personal "thinking" - I always hate to sit someone in a moving vehicle behind a horizontal ledge (i.e., dinette table) that is at gut level. If an accident happens, or a sudden stop, it could potentially cause a lot of damage to the person (think kidneys,liver, appendix, stomach, and so on, all in the gut area). I would personally remove the table when driving so that risk is not there. Even with seatbelts, I just don't like the idea of that table edge in someone's gut.
